Every job must have a rookie, otherwise it would only be filled with skilled workers. At some point in our lives, we start as a rookie, also known as a beginner at a job or a sport. Many jobs have rookies including police, medics, military, football players, soccer players, and basically any other sport that exists. Everyone has their known experience with being a beginner, and they could have started long ago, and are now retired, or they just began their shift today, or maybe they’re still a kid trying to choose what they want to be when they grow up. What’s fun about becoming a rookie is how you can choose a career that you find interesting and can learn more about it by getting an education and applying for jobs that are related to it. During the job picking process, there are time when it’s difficult, perhaps making the rookie give up. Maybe it’s because of a hard test that is difficult to pass. The hardest part is that many people must face their fears along the way to learn how to survive.
The Start
In the beginning of young adult life, it’s all about college and part-time jobs to get by. Juggling work and school can make the young adult stress overwhelming, making them want to give up and go on the easy path, but eventually, they try again and again until they have achieved their goal of becoming what they wanted to become. Once they have achieved their goals, here comes part two of the journey: to survive on their own.
After graduating college and getting the degree, next comes life where you can do anything imaginable such as getting your own house, your own car, and your own food. Let’s just say you got a job in the medical field and became a nurse. It’s your first day, and you were tasked to check on patients while waiting for the doctor, and one of them gives you a hard time, which is the nurse’s job to keep them calm. After coming home, you just want to relax because you had a long day and then realize you must do this until your shift is up. When doing this for another five years, you chose to study another subject, such as bioengineering. What would you do then?
Types of Rookies
Basically, any job has a rookie position but the most common are nurses, marines, coast guard, air force, firefighting, police, ambulance drivers–you name it–but these jobs are just in the first responder field. Speaking of a first responder, I interviewed TC, a rookie that drives ambulances, who explains her experience in the medical field. One question asked was, “What was the most difficult thing that you were struggling with in the training of your selected job?” She responded, “Talking or being loud; I struggle with being loud. I don’t like talking or being loud.” Next, I asked, “What is the best thing about being a rookie in the job that you chose? Is there anything special about it?” Her answer was, “Meeting new people I can learn from; I love it personally, since I get to make new friends and enjoy their company whether that be at work or outside of it.”
How do you think a sports rookie might feel? In another interview with Haley Hill, a basketball player here at Crownpoint High School, she discusses her experience. A question asked was, “What were your first thoughts when you wanted to join the sport? How did you react when you were added to the team?” She noted, “My first thoughts where ‘I hope I’m good enough for the team and the coach,’ and I was scared to play.” When I got added to the team, I was excited and happy.” I then asked her, “What is the best thing about being a rookie?” She said, “I think the best part was playing with the older players. The part I liked the most was playing with a different team and how crazy it can get.” It may be hard at first becoming a rookie but eventually it will get easier by learning and just facing the challenges.
Others say how they might get a job like being a janitor, but over time, they would get promoted to another high-paying job like a manager of a small business, and then to a CEO of the company. That’s what you might call handmade businesses where it was created by you and your hard work. Some people may agree that jobs from babysitting to flying planes all have starter positions. From the first experience to practicing and learning, eventually the hard work leads to understanding how to do it right and professionally. Every experience must have a starting point. If not, then everyone would know how to do it correctly. From washing a dog to driving a car, every task or job has rookies. Even driving a car can be a job for rookies because it’s a hands-on experience and you get certified to do it.
Quick Review: Sports
In professional sports, did you know that big leagues such as the NFL pick rookies from colleges to play for their league? While in college, football players are scouted for their skills and good sportsmanship. The League searches for good players to play for them. Many teams like the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers draft skilled players. In basketball, the NBA also drafts players. Teams like the Golden State Warriors or the Phoenix Suns try to draft talented young basketball players. Prior to ever being scouted by a professional team, a talented player may play for a college team on a scholarship.
Benefits
What are the benefits of being a rookie? Many people may have a plan A and a plan B. After graduating high school, students may still be deciding what they want to do with their life, but that’s ok. Maybe they want to be many things at once, or if they’re in a tight position, they may just want to get to work. In a survey of Crownpoint High School students, they were asked questions about how it feels to be a rookie. First, I asked “How did you feel in the first week of school?” Some said they were scared, and others were excited or just okay about it. Another Question was, “What was the hardest part of becoming a rookie?” The most common answers were “the changes,” or “trying to fit in.” My experience as a rookie is that it is hard at first trying to fit in and dealing with all the new changes, but you have to face them eventually, get used to the changes and grow along with them even if you make a mistake. You just learn what you did wrong and try not to do it again, and that makes perfection. If it still doesn’t work, try new ways to improve it. There is a point you move beyond being a rookie, and that is when you get the most experience, knowing that you are responsible enough to handle it on your own.
The most important thing for being a starter is to have common sense. You must rely on your instincts to know when something is wrong, or something needs to be improved upon. It’s not just you that goes through it, everyone does, and every day there are new challenges that everybody must face to go on to the next day. Let’s just say that it’s your first day and you don’t know what to do so you just go to the boss and explain that you’re new and don’t know what to do. That would take a lot of courage and boldness to do that. Although we all have different experiences, there is plenty to discover as a rookie such as new methods or new ideas for how to accomplish tasks more professionally and efficiently. I believe that being a rookie is the best way to learn, as it gives hands on learning. This allows you to develop better time management, problem solving, and coping skills.
